Botanical classification/cultivar denomination: Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. cultivar Winterfest Red.
The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Poinsettia plant, botanically known as Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd., and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Winterfest Redxe2x80x99.
The new Poinsettia is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Lompoc, Calif. The objective of the breeding program is to create new Poinsettia cultivars with uniform plant habit and attractive flower bract coloration.
The new Poinsettia is a induced mutation of the Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. cultivar Festival Red, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,253. The new Poinsettia was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single plant within a population of irradiated plants of the cultivar Festival Red in a controlled environment in Lompoc, Calif. The selection of this plant was based on its attractive flower bract coloration and uniform plant habit.
Asexual reproduction of the new Poinsettia by vegetative terminal cuttings taken at Lompoc, Calif., has shown that the unique features of this new Poinsettia are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Winterfest Redxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Winterfest Redxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Uniform plant growth habit.
2. Dark green-colored leaves with reddish-colored petioles.
3. Mid-season flowering habit.
4. Inflorescences with red-colored flower bracts.
5. Excellent post-production longevity.
Plants of the new Poinsettia differ from plants of the parent cultivar, Festival Red, in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Poinsettia are taller than plants of the cultivar Festival Red.
2. Plants of the new Poinsettia flower about 7 to 10 days later than plants of the cultivar Festival Red.
3. Plants of the new Poinsettia have narrower flower bracts than plants of the cultivar Festival Red.
4. Plants of the new Poinsettia have more cyathium per corymb than plants of the cultivar Festival Red.
Plants of the new Poinsettia can be compared to plants of the cultivar 490, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 7,825. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Lompoc, Calif., plants of the new Poinsettia differed from plants of the cultivar 490 in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Poinsettia were taller and not as outwardly spreading as plants of the cultivar 490.
2. Plants of the new Poinsettia flowered about 7 to 10 days later than plants of the cultivar 490 under controlled photoperiod conditions.
3. Plants of the new Poinsettia had narrower flower bracts than plants of the cultivar 490.
4. Plants of the new Poinsettia had more cyathia per corymb than plants of the cultivar 490.